The first day of the workshop was about
Sattvic food. In Ayurvedic medicine, Sattvic food promotes the clarity of mind while
also being beneficial to the body. It is based in foods such as fruits, most vegetables,
water, cereals, legumes and nuts. Besides Sattvic foods, there are also Rajasic and Tamasic ones. The Rajasic foods are stimulants, such as tea,
coffee, chocolate, salt and hot spices, and don’t do either good or harm to the
body. Tamasic foods are sedative and are not considered beneficial to neither
the body nor the mind. Among these are for example meat, fish, eggs, mushrooms,
onions, garlic and alcohol beverages. Ideally, our diet would be mostly Sattvic
and a little Rajasic. Fruit is considered to be one of the most sattvic foods,
and the reason for this is that it is usually obtained without harming other
living organisms - we take care of the fruit tree, watering it and pruning it
when necessary and it gives us fruits that nourish and nurture us. As you have
noticed, is a more holistic approach to food and nutrition in general.

We began by preparing the masala
chai, an Indian drink made with tea, spices and milk. While the chai was
simmering and reducing, we also learned to make ghee - surprisingly easy and
tasty -, which is clarified butter and the fat that is mostly used for cooking
in India, and almond milk. We learned that it is important to soak seeds,
grains, legumes and nuts before using them either raw, like nuts and some
grains, or cooked, because "it unlocks the nutrient potential" of
these foods, reducing the amount of phytic acid, and aiding the absorption of
certain minerals.

Afterwards, we grabed our knives and
boards, and cut all the vegetables for the daal and for the cucumber salad. And
finally, the best part was to taste everything! I had a wedding that day and
unfortunately I didn’t join everyone at the table, but I managed to take a
little bit of everything home!